Rev Fr James Manjackal's video message to all Christians

Open letter to PM Modi by AJ Philip: Honour your own promise of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas

 

Dear Shri Narendra Modi Ji,

I was very happy to know that you visited the Catholic Cathedral Church, New Delhi, on Easter. You also lit a candle in front of the altar and planted a tree on the campus. I am sure the Catholic Bishop Conference of India (CBCI) authorities would water the plant and ensure its growth.

On the occasion of Christmas, the President of India also visited the same Church and expressed her solidarity with the Christian community in the country. Such visits are certainly welcome, as they would help to understand the Christian traditions and practices better.

A few years back, a member of our church married a Hindu girl at our church at Dwarka. Her father also attended the wedding. After the wedding, I met him. He told me that it was the first time that he stepped into a church. He had some worries about inter-religious marriage. Of course, he knew the boy who was his daughter’s colleague.

Whatever apprehensions he had were removed when he attended the church service which was in his own words “elegant and meaningful”. He listened carefully to the prayers and about the duties expected from the groom. "You should clothe her, even if you are naked, you should feed her, even if you are hungry”. In fact, he was much relieved after attending the service.

I am sure you would also have understood some of the Christian practices when you visited the Cathedral Church. I remember the then head of the Marthoma Church of which I am a member, Joseph Marthoma, praising you while addressing a gathering at Kayamkulam, my native place.

Once when the Metropolitan visited Gujarat, you treated him as a state guest. You sent the Chief Secretary to receive him at the airport and you accommodated him at the state guest house. When he met you, he had one request. He wanted a plot of land for burial in Ahmedabad.

You were kind enough to accede to his request. Someone, blessed with dark humour, commented that you donated the Christians a graveyard. I know how difficult it is to buy land for burial. You actually solved a big problem of the Christian community there.

Although it was your first visit to the Cathedral Church, it had figured prominently in your election speeches. I am sure you would recall that you as Chief Minister wanted elections to be held immediately after the Godhra incident and the pogrom or “riots” that followed.

The Chief Election Commissioner at that time was James Michael Lyngdoh. He was not prepared to hold the elections immediately. You were upset with him. You told public meeting after public meeting that Lyngdoh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi would meet at the Cathedral Church every Sunday morning and conspire against you, that is “Gujarat”.

You made the allegation without any rhyme or reason. The fact of the matter was that Lyngdoh was an atheist who did not attend any church. As regards Sonia Gandhi, she was a practising Hindu, not a Christian. She never attended the Cathedral Church and they never met there.

Now that you have the contact details of all the church authorities, you can ascertain from them whether they ever saw Lyngdoh and Sonia Gandhi attending the church together or separately. No, I am not suggesting that you should apologise to both for spreading the lie about them.

You were politically wise enough to know that if elections were held in the wake of Godhra, you would win hands down. Lyngdoh could only delay the election. And finally when elections were held, you won the state. It was the beginning of your roller-coaster ride as a political leader. In other words, the lie about the Cathedral Church played a role in your success.

I am sure you know that for Christians, the most important days are Christmas, Good Friday and Easter. The day you visited the church, many Christian teachers of CBSE-affiliated schools were forced to go to their schools to conduct evaluation of the board exam papers.

The CBSE had issued an order forcing them to go to school even on Good Friday. Just imagine how you would have reacted if the CBSE had issued such an order forcing teachers to attend schools on Diwali.

That raises the question: Does the Prime Minister of the country have to visit a church? I do not think Jawaharlal Nehru ever visited a church on Easter or Christmas. Nor did he visit a mosque or temple. Yet, he was the most popular leader for all the minority communities.

I really liked the promise you made when you contested the election in 2014. You promised equal treatment to one and all. Is that the case now? A minister in Karnataka was heard exhorting his men to give Christians a thrashing. An impression has been created among the minds of the people that Christians are out to convert Hindus.

We are less than three per cent of the population. There is not a single case of forced conversion to Christianity although some of the anti-conversion laws have been in existence for more than fifty years. Yet, people are arrested in the name of conversion and jailed.

Of course, they would be released for want of evidence but by then they and their families would have suffered. You know what the Indian state did to Fr Stan Swamy. He was arrested for interrogation but he was not interrogated even for a minute after his arrest.

He was suffering from Parkison’s disease and could not hold a glass of water. When he asked for a straw to drink water, the judge gave a month’s time to the prosecution to give its reply. Finally, he died in police custody without the state even submitting a chargesheet against him.

Stan Swamy is already a saint for people like me. I know you want Christians to vote for you in Kerala where they are about 25 percent of the population. For that you need not go to any Church.

We have a beautiful Constitution. It lists the duties and responsibilities of the people and the government. I as a Christian can practice my religion and preach it without fear. Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Buddhists, not to mention Hindus, have the same right.

We are all citizens with equal rights. We do not want any special privileges, except those guaranteed by the Constitution. History bears proof that countries progressed when peace prevailed. That is why the Elizabethan period was considered the most productive period in Britain.

A strong word from you that you will not tolerate hooliganism, lynching and hate campaigns against any community, be it Muslim or Christian or Sikh, will go a long way in ending the sense of insecurity that grips Christians and Muslims in the country.

In other words, what is required is building a sense of confidence and security among the people of India. You should have the moral courage to tell the world that this country belongs as much to Hindus as they belong to Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and others.

There is no need for you to visit religious places, except for your own spiritual satisfaction. Instead, you can concentrate on implementing your own promise of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas.

Let me conclude by telling you that I am planning a visit to the Statue of Unity and the Somnath Temple at my own cost later this month.

With best wishes
Yours sincerely
AJ Philip
ajphilip@gmail.com

Who pollutes Kadambrayar? KITEX or Brahmapuram waste land?

Latest UK Visa IYPS Ballot OPEN [APPLY ONLINE]

UK is one of the evergreen dream destinations for the Indian Youth. Most of the Indians wish to secure some jobs, whether skilled or unskilled jobs in the United Kingdom and fly to London. Hence they keep on pondering for career or other opportunities to land in the UK.

The UK Government has announced a new visa scheme in 2023 by name "India Young Professionals Scheme" (IYPS) which enables a limited number of qualified youth between the age group of 18-30, who are really very lucky, as the total number of this visa allocated is only 2400, and the applicants are to selected by lot!

According to India Young Professional Scheme visa, Indian citizens between 18 and 30 years age are allowed to live and work in the UK for 2 years.

'India Young Professional Scheme' is some what different from the 'Youth Mobility Visa' which were issued earlier as IYPS visa is granted to persons with minimum graduation, whereas YMV are meant for anyone in that prescribed age group. 

Eligibility criteria: 

1. Indian Citizens only

2. Age between 18 and 30

3. Minimum Bachelor's Degree (or above)

4. Must show 2530 Pounds (about 2,52,000 INR) in SB account for 28 days.

5. Medical Certificate stating that you are not infected by TB

6. Police certificate stating that there is no criminal cases against you.

Note: While Applying Online (Entering the Ballot) only a scanned (or photo) copy of the Passport is sufficient. 

Ballot Open from February 28th (Tuesday) 2.30 PM to March 2nd (Thursday) 2.30 PM.

Click this link to ENTER THE BALLOT.

Enter Name

Date of Birth

Passport details

Scanned / photo copy of Passport

Phone Number

Email address.

For more info, please refer:

https://www.gov.uk/india-young-professionals-scheme-visa

Kothamangalam Bishop's exhortation for Digital fasting

2023 ലെ വലിയ നോമ്പിന് ഒരുക്കമായി കോതമംഗലം കത്തോലിക്കാ രൂപതാ മെത്രാൻ അഭിവന്ദ്യ മാർ ജോർജ് മഠത്തിക്കണ്ടത്തിൽ പിതാവ് തന്റെ രൂപതയിലെ വിശ്വാസികൾക്ക് നോമ്പുകാലം ഭക്തിയോടും വിശ്വാസത്തോടും ത്യാഗത്തോടും പരോപകാര പ്രവർത്തികളോടും കൂടെ എങ്ങനെ ആചരിക്കണമെന്നു നൽകിയ ഒരു ലഘുസന്ദേശമാണ് മുകളിൽ കൊടുത്തിരിക്കുന്ന വീഡിയോ.

പരമ്പരാഗതമായി കേരളത്തിലെ ക്രൈസ്തവർ, പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് കത്തോലിക്കർ വലിയ നോമ്പിന് മൽസ്യ മാംസാദികൾ വർജിക്കുക പതിവുള്ളതാണ്. എന്നാൽ ഈ കാലഘട്ടത്തിൽ ആബാലവൃദ്ധം ജനങ്ങൾ എല്ലാവരും പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് യുവജനങ്ങളും കുട്ടികളും വാട്ട്സ്  ആപ്പിനും യൂട്യൂബിനും മൊബൈൽ ഫോണിനും ഓൺലൈൻ ഗെയിംസിനും അടിമപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നതു ഒരു നിഷേധിക്കാൻ പറ്റാത്ത സത്യമാകയാൽ മറ്റുള്ള വസ്തുക്കൾ ഉപേക്ഷിക്കുന്നതോടൊപ്പം ഡിജിറ്റൽ നോബും ആചരിക്കാൻ ശ്രമിക്കണമെന്ന് അദ്ദേഹം ഉത്ബോധിപ്പിക്കുന്നു. 

പൂർത്തിയായിട്ടല്ലെങ്കിലും സാധിക്കുന്നിടത്തോളം എല്ലാവരും വിശേഷാൽ യുവതീയൂവാക്കളും കുട്ടികളും മൊബൈൽ ഫോണുകളും കംപ്യൂട്ടർകളും വിനോദത്തിനായുള്ള ഉപയോഗം കുറക്കണമെന്നാണ്  അഭിവന്യ പിതാവ് സന്ദേശത്തിൽ നൽകിയത്. 

എന്നാൽ ഈ  ആഹ്വാനത്തെ ഏഷ്യാനെറ്റ് ടി വി ഇന്നത്തെ പ്രഭാത വാർത്തയിൽ (നമസ്തേ കേരളം) സംപ്രേഷണം ചെയ്ത ശേഷം അവതാരകൻ പി ജി സുരേഷ് കുമാർ അഭിവന്ദ്യ പിതാവ് ട്രോൾ മഴയെ അഭിമുഖീകരിക്കേണ്ടിവരുമെന്നു പറഞ്ഞ പരിഹാസ ഡയലോഗ് തീരെ വിലകുറഞ്ഞു പോയെന്നു ജനങ്ങൾ അഭിപ്രായപ്പെടുന്നു!

Muslim Imam condemns 'Bible burning' incident in Kerala

The HOPE movie by LOGOS films Reviews and ratings

 

'The Hope' is a new full length movie originally created in Malayalam and dubbed in other languages like English and Hindi (It will be dubbed in Telugu, Kannada, Bengali and other languages also soon). The Hope is conceived and directed by Bro Joy Kallukaran who has dedicated his life for the spreading of the Holy Gospel to the masses. And the producer of this movie is Emmanuel Joseph (Thankachan) under the 'Logos films' banner. 

Unlike the commercial films that are made for money, The Hope is made with the only aim of salvation of souls. Bro Joy Kallukaran's first short film "He will come again" was watched by millions of people around the world, through his youtube channel "Gospel for the poor" and caused the conversion of many hearts!

Even though the ultimate motto of this film is redemption of souls, it is produced interestingly and brilliantly using all modern technologies and involving famous and highly talented movie artists.

The Hope Malayalam film team:

Concept, story & Direction: Joy Kallookkaran

Producer: Emmanuel Joseph

Starring: Sijoy Varghese (as Dr John Abraham) and Lenaa (as Sara John)

Actors: Srikanth Murali (as Philip), Rahavan (as Fr Benedict), Sunil Sukhada (as Fr Vicar)  

Music: Prince George.

Film editing: Johnnykutty

Cinematography: Tharun

'The Hope' cinema Review: 

The Hope movie which was released recently has a 5***** rating as all the people who watched it gave it a 5 star rating in all aspects. Because while giving a wonderful message to the viewer, the movie is also giving needed entertainments. 

Watch the genuine opinion of people who were fortunate to watch it early:

 

As mentioned above, the movie was produced to make the people aware that an eternal life starts immediately after the present one, and everyone while living here must ensure that he/she is eligible to enter the eternal bliss for which he/she is created! As none of us know at which moment our life on this earth will end, we must be ever ready to face a particular judgment on our deathbed...!

As the makers of this movie have already incurred huge financial liability, they are not able to afford anymore money to screen the movie in cinemas (without advertisements). Hence they are looking for people who can support them in any way.

As of now this movie is being screened in Churches, Colleges, Schools, institutions etc. by their teams. For this please contact the below-given number. 

Contact numbers: 

If anyone is interested to cooperate with them to display the film among the masses, and/or to donate them anything may contact the following numbers: 

Sunny (India) : 98471 38119,

Shaiju (India) : 80862 67424,

Joshy (Gulf) : +971 58 556 4111

Bro Joy Kallukkaran: 94976 22999

Here is the English trailer of The Hope movie.